Demonstration Garden Highlights Four Key Principles of Sustainable Landscaping

The San Diego County Water Authority unveiled a renovated demonstration garden at its Kearny Mesa headquarters designed to inspire more residents to create outdoor spaces that achieve multiple environmental benefits.

The four key principles of the Sustainable Landscapes Program.

The approximately 3,000-square-foot garden provides a tangible example of the recommendations of the San Diego Sustainable Landscapes Program, or SLP, and highlights four key principles of sustainable landscaping.

Here’s what to look for when visiting the garden:

  • Healthy, Living Soils: Healthy, living soils rich in organic content feed a complex soil food web. The soil holds water like a sponge and has nutrients for better plant health. Healthy soil may also play an important role in carbon sequestration. The garden has a 1.3 in layer of compost mixed into the soil and is topped with 3 inches of mulch to suppress weeds and reduce evaporation.
  • Climate-Appropriate Plants: A large selection of beautiful groundcovers, shrubs and trees is compatible with San Diego’s mild Mediterranean climate. These plants use less water and exhibit diverse colors, textures and shapes, while providing endless design opportunities. The garden uses more than 20 varieties of very low to moderate water-use plants, placed in hydrozones where plants with similar irrigation needs are grouped together.
  • High-Efficiency Irrigation: A smart irrigation controller adjusts water automatically in response to site and changing weather conditions. High-performance distribution components regulate pressure and are tailored to fit the exact watering needs of different plants in the landscape. The garden has inline drip irrigation and rotating nozzles to maximize water-use efficiency.
  • Rainwater as a Resource: Sustainable landscapes make the most of rainfall onsite. By slowing its flow, water is captured from rooftops and other hard surfaces so it can sink into the soil or be stored for later use. The garden demonstrates rainwater harvesting through a bioswale and detention basin next to the building and rain barrels along the entryway.
Visitors can check out the exhibit sign to learn all about key sustainable landscaping principles.

The garden also features an exhibit-quality sign to introduce visitors to key sustainable landscaping principles. The sign includes a QR Code that enables visitors to use their smartphones to quickly locate related SLP resources at sustainablelandscapessd.org.

Smaller signs throughout the landscape identify specific plant types. Free brochures on sustainable landscaping featuring the landscape’s design plan and plant palette are also available for visitors to take home.

Mexican Bush Sage at the Demonstration Garden.

To learn more about water conservation incentives, programs, resources and more, go to watersmartsd.org or follow SDCWA on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

How to Live WaterSmart

The San Diego County Water Authority recently launched a campaign to encourage San Diego County residents to Live WaterSmart. The agency provides many free resources to support water-use efficiency as a way of life and encourage sustainable changes to homes and landscapes. This approach helps ensures our region will have sufficient water supplies for years to come.

Resources provided by the Water Authority and its partners include:

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Other great WaterSmart tips:

  • Check for leaks in your system by monitoring your water bill for abnormal changes in usage. Use your water meter to check specific areas for leaks.
  • Mulch, mulch, mulch! Add mulch around trees and plants to retain moisture in the ground.
  • Regularly check your irrigation system for runoff, leaks and broken sprinkler heads. Upgrade to a water-efficient system to be as WaterSmart as possible!
  • Wash full loads of laundry and dishes to save on water and energy.
  • Incorporate native and low-water plants into your garden. In addition to saving water, these plants typically are easier to care for. That’s good news for those of us who don’t have a green thumb!
  • Turn off the tap when brushing your teeth, shaving and lathering.
  • Scrape food waste into a composting container instead of rinsing it down the drain.
  • Replace older appliances and fixtures with efficient WaterSense® models; take advantage of rebates to save money.
  • Irrigate in the evening or early morning; turn off irrigation systems when it rains and for at least 48 hours afterward

Water Wasters Beware!

May is Water Awareness Month and it is only fitting that today’s blog comes from our friends at the San Diego County Water Authority! You may remember a blog from last fall called, “When in DROUGHT, turn to us!” that focused on water use restrictions and how ILACSD staff conserve water in their lives. As water restrictions have intensified, we wanted to make sure you’re are up-to-date. Read on to learn new ways to conserve water in your life! 

When in Drought

State Mandates Water-Use Cuts

This means we all need to do our part to save water every day, every way

May is Water Awareness Month, and what we all need to be aware of is that the governor has ordered mandatory cuts in water use to start June 1.   If we all do a little more to save water, it can add up to big savings for our region – in terms of water and avoiding financial penalties from the state.

Each local water agency has a conservation target to reach from June 2015 through February 2016. These cuts range from 8 to 36 percent depending on each agency’s level of per-capita water-use. If a member agency does not reach its conservation target in the coming months, the agency could face fines. 

Summer is almost here, the peak season for water use.

  • watering yardLimit outdoor watering to two days per week, less if you can.
  • Leaks should be corrected immediately – sign up for your free WaterSmart Check up today!
  • Decorative water fountains must use a recirculating pump.
  • Use a broom to clear driveways, sidewalks and paved areas instead of a hose, which is prohibited.

Are you looking for even more ways to conserve water?

  • Opt to stop watering you lawn areas and let them get a tan this summer! (forget Orange is the New Black, Brown is the new Green!)washer
  • Shorten your showers. Shaving 1 minute off your shower time saves 150 gallons a month! 
  • Collect the warm-up water from your shower and use it to water plants.
  • Wash only full loads of clothes and dishes.
  • Turn off the faucet when washing, shaving or brushing teeth – you’ll save about 2 gallons per minute!
  • Install water-efficient appliances and take advantage of rebates at WaterSmartSD.org.
Sarah watering plants
Sarah, ILACSD’s Development & Marketing Coordinator, uses old water to water plants at the office instead of pouring it down the sink!

Already doing everything to conserve? Share what you’re doing with SDCWA on Facebook and Twitter! 

Check with your local water agency to see what restrictions are in place in your community. If you aren’t sure which member agency to contact, go to whenindrought.org for the member agency locator, more conservation tips, and rebate information.

Thank you for saving water every day, every way!

 

 

A Crash Course in Local Water Issues

Today, we share our last blog post from Environmental Educator, Monica Rosquillas, who will be setting out on a new path in 2015. A member of the ILACSD team for more than two years, Monica just completed the Citizen Water Academy program and provides a brief rundown of what she learned below. You can even test your local water knowledge in a quiz she created!

Last October, I had the privilege of being part of the inaugural class of the San Diego County Water Authority’s Citizens Water Academy.

The Citizens Water Academy is open to future and emerging leaders in the San Diego region that desire to learn about critical water issues in the region.

Fall 2014 Citizens Water Academy participants
Fall 2014 Citizens Water Academy participants

It was a four session program the included presentations from local water experts and tours to local water facilities.

Here’s a short run-through of the academy and some interesting information I learned along the way.

Session 1 was held at the San Diego History Center in beautiful Balboa Park.
During this session, local water experts presented on San Diego’s water history and its future.
Within the last 24 years, San Diego has increased its water reliability through supply diversification.

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Did you know where our tap water comes from?

 

Here’s Michael Page, ILACSD board member who also participated in the Citizens Water Academy. On the right is Mark Weston, Water Authority Board Chair. On the left is Ramesses Surban, Citizens Water Academy student
Here’s Michael Page, ILACSD board member who also participated in the Citizens Water Academy. On the right is Mark Weston, Water Authority Board Chair. On the left is Ramesses Surban, Citizens Water Academy student

Session 2 was held at the Escondido Operations and Maintenance Center. We learned about Regional Water Infrastructure, Water Authority Operations, and the Water Authority’s Emergency Preparedness Efforts.

Did you know that San Diego uses enough water every day to fill Qualcomm Stadium twice?

During session two I learned all about what goes into importing water to San Diego, storing it, treating it, and delivering that water to our homes. I have always been conscious of my water use but I now have a new appreciation of San Diego’s clean and reliable tap water.

Ever wonder what happens to our water supply in case of an emergency? Watch this video  to find out.

 

Session 3 was at the North City Water Reclamation Plant.

There, we took a tour of San Diego’s Advanced Water Purification Facility, where wastewater is treated and recycled.

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Session 4 was a busy day!

After breakfast and check in at the Escondido office, we got on a bus and headed over to the Carlsbad Desalination Plant.

The Desalination plant is a $ 1 Billion project expected to produce drinking water for the San Diego region as soon as fall 2015. The plant will meet about 7% of the county’s water demands in 2020.

Here’s how it works.

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We then headed over to Olivenhain Reservoir.  This is the region’s first major new dam and reservoir in 50 years. The Olivenhain Reservoir can store 24,000 Acre Feet of Water.

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Here I am at the Olivenhain Reservoir

 

Afterwards, we took a trip over to Stone Brewery in Escondido and were able to tour their water recycling facility.

Here I am at Stone.
Here I am at Stone.

Finally, we headed back to the Escondido office for our Graduation Ceremony.

Here I am with Mark Weston, Board Chair, and Maureen A. Stapleton, General Manager of the San Diego County Water Authority
Here I am with Mark Weston, Board Chair, and Maureen A. Stapleton, General Manager of the San Diego County Water Authority

 

The Citizens Water Academy provided me with the opportunity to learn firsthand from local water experts about the region’s water supply that I have shared with hundreds of students in San Diego County, hopefully inspiring them to conserve this precious natural resource.  If you’re interested in participating in the Citizens Water Academy, a project of the San Diego County Water Authority, they are currently accepting applications for their Spring 2015 class. Learn more information online.

Think you’re a water expert? Test your local water knowledge in a quiz that Monica created based on what she learned in the Citizens Water Academy!